Cooper discussed his upcoming covers project during their chat, explaining, "I have never done a covers album. This is around my 28th, 29th, 30th album -- I thought, 'If I'm gonna do a covers album, I'm not gonna go out there and just kind of spray it around and do this song and that song. I'm going to make it specific."

He did this, he says, by reaching into his personal past. "I had a drinking club called the 'Hollywood Vampires' back in the early-'70s," he explained. "It was Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Keith Moon, Harry Nilsson, Ringo Starr -- all the guys that were in town. We met every night and drank. All of them, pretty much, are gone, so now I said, 'Why not make an album for all my dead drunk friends?' You know, those songs. Songs from each one of those guys. Now it has a reason to be there. It isn't just a covers album, now it's a specific tip of the hat to the guys I used to drink with."

Of course, we still don't know when the album will be coming out, or which specific songs Cooper intends to cover. "If you're gonna do a John Lennon song and it's about excess, then 'Cold Turkey' is a pretty good one," he teased. "Not saying we're gonna do that song, but it's a pretty good one."

And after it's out, don't expect Cooper to start slowing down anytime soon. "I'm gonna make as many albums as I can. We already have next year's tour planned," he pointed out. "There's no retirement at all involved in me. I'm not going anywhere...the show just keeps getting better and better."